“194 countries”: Japan, Germany, other passports that will get you almost anywhere in the world

• The claim that Nigerians get discriminated against because of their passport led to a keyboard war on X
• Some Nigerians refuted the claims of discrimination and asserted that the Nigerian passport is one of the strongest
• TheRadar brings you the top set of countries on the global passport ranking

It is the passport that dictates the ease — or otherwise — with which people can travel to and from countries. 

While nationalities of other countries experience little hassle when they want to travel, Nigerians are unable to relate as they face many challenges when embarking on international travel. 

“Your passport ranks as 191 out of 199 countries but ‘be patriotic and say it’s strong’ Let the weak say I am strong,” @SamdGreat01 posted in response to netizens who claimed the Nigerian passport is one of the strongest in the world. 

Another netizen, @gbengaday, posted, “Nigerian passport and constant discrimination at international airports na 5&6. It’s crazy literally.” 

This discussion erupted again after popular travel vlogger Tayo Aina posted a video about how he was discriminated against because of his Nigerian passport, which led him to get a passport from a Caribbean country called St Kitts, which afforded him access to 140 countries visa-free. 

This triggered some “patriotic” Nigerians to defend their country, and they also claimed that the Nigerian passport is one of the strongest. 

“… Nigerian passport is one of the strongest in the world… A good Nigerian passport gotten from Abuja can give you access to over 157 countries visa-free.” @hackSultan posted in response to Tayo Aina’s video. 

Against this backdrop, TheRadar compiles the list of the top countries with the most powerful visas based on the number of countries their citizens can visit without needing a visa in advance. This ranking is guided by Henley global passport ranking.

Top 10 set of countries with the most powerful visas

1. The countries that rank first in the global passport ranking are France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Spain. Holders of the passports of these countries can travel to 194 countries without a prior visa. 
2. Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden rank second. These countries allow visa-free travel to 193 countries.
3. Belgium, Denmark, and the United Kingdom rank third, with visa-free access to 192 countries. 
4. Norway, Portugal, and Switzerland rank fourth. Citizens of these countries can travel to 191 countries without needing a prior visa.
5. Australia, Greece, Malta, and New Zealand rank fifth. These countries allow visa-free travel to 190 countries. 
6. The countries on the sixth rank are Canada, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and the United States, with access to 189 countries. 
7. The country on the seventh rank is Lithuania with visa-free access to 188 countries. 
8. Estonia and the United Arab Emirates rank eighth. This gives them visa-free access to 187 countries. 
9. The countries that rank ninth are  Slovakia and Slovenia with visa-free access to 186 countries. 
10. The country that ranks tenth in the global passport ranking is Iceland with access to 185 countries. 

On the global passport ranking, the Nigerian passport ranks 95th, along with Lebanon, Sudan and Iran, with visa-free access to only 45 countries. From this, it can be concluded that the Nigerian passport is not one of the strongest passports in the world, not even in Africa.